Cracking Up Over Here — Reviewing ‘Knight Terrors: Detective Comics’ #1

Sometimes a story will reach a moment where the only logical response is “Huh, what!?” Those are some fun stories. That’s exactly what one can find as the Knight Terrors event finds its way over to Gotham in the pages of Detective Comics.

Not the pages of the main Detective Comics, series to be clear, but another two-issue mini taking the place of the main book. Just like we’re seeing across DC for various series during this event. In most cases, these side stories put the main stories on hold for two months. Some have some ties to what is going on, but overall are mostly current-day nightmare stories. With the writer of this book, Dan Watters, being a friend of regular series writer Ram V, it’s firmly in the first camp.

While things are weird overall and still tied to the main series, it’s the visuals that strike hard first. Riccardo Federici is the perfect artist for this series and pairs wonderfully with colorist Brad Anderson. It’s an art style that is so dense and deep, almost like fine paintings, that makes the weird and creepy even Moreso. Because it makes it all feel hazy and dreamy, yet very real at the same time.

Anderson brings a color palette that is very toned down overall, tapping into the darkness and creating a cold and lonely sort of feeling in Gotham. It’s snowing in July during this dream sequence which matches the tone of the colors and artwork. We see splashes of more vibrant colors here or there to heighten the elements that are supernatural.

This is a story where Gordon doesn’t seem to realize he’s in a dream, despite the obvious clues. Thus, the way that the art is approached, playing in a way where it’s clear it’s a dream but also leaves us questioning too. Blending realism and surrealism in a way.

All the lettering falls into the same spaces too thanks to what Steve Wands is doing. It’s cool and very formal in some respects. Gordon’s captions are still found in crinkled yellowed paper-looking boxes, while the dream beings have a white font on black boxes with red borders. It feels ominous compared to how mundane and old-school Gordon’s words are. This is his dream world, in a way, and we can feel it but also feel the outside forces at work on every level.

Watters has handled several stories around Gotham already and has a writer sensibility that borders on the ‘weird’ in some respects. Basically, he’s able to tap into levels of weirdness that are already part of comics and make them feel real and creepy. The addition of Sorrow, the young man Gordon is taking care of, and other bits connect this story to the ongoing Detective Comics storyline that Ram V and others are crafting.

It finds a way to weave this into the middle of that, without referencing it or making readers feel lost. That perfect blend of new reader friendly but also friendly and comforting to the existing readers. Balancing on that sort of line is not easy, yet Watters makes it feel as simple as possible.

I love an issue that makes me want to go back and re-read it right away, and Watters achieved that. Hitting those points referenced in the intro, are things I personally find interesting. Those moments where one is confused and not quite sure what they read but knows they like it and want more. Many horror stories especially hit this tone, and this is of course a good horror story.

Knight Terrors: Detective Comics #1 is now available from DC Comics.